A researcher and foreign exchange student at Georgetown University was arrested this week by ICE officials for allegedly spreading Hamas propaganda.
Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national who teaches and studies at Georgetown, was arrested on Monday at his home in Rosslyn, Virginia, and told that his student visa had been revoked, CBS News and Politico reported, citing a lawsuit filed in the case.
Suri's wife, Mapheze Ahmad Yousef Saleh, also a Georgetown student, is the daughter of a senior Hamas official.
The report stated that according to the Trump Administration, Suri was arrested and had his for spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media. In addition, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security stated that Suri had “close connections” with a senior advisor to the Hamas terrorist organizations. This led Secretary of State Marco Rubio to conclude that there were sufficient grounds to deport Suri under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The arrest of Suri follows the high-profile arrest of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil earlier this month. The Trump Administration is seeking to revoke Khalil's green card and deport him for his role in the antisemitic protests that have rocked the Columbia campus for the last year, including his spreading of Hamas flyers.
On Tuesday, Khalil issued his first public statement since the arrest, accusing both the Trump and Biden administrations of “anti-Palestinian racism.”
Calling himself a "political prisoner," Khalil called for further protests, stating, “In the weeks ahead, students, advocates, and elected officials must unite to defend the right to protest for Palestine. At stake are not just our voices, but the fundamental civil liberties of all.”